Astronaut stalked me, romantic rival says

February 7, 2007|By Henry Pierson Curtis By Bradley Olson and Dan Lamothe Orlando Sentinel Baltimore Sun and Information from The (Baltimore) Sun was used in this report

NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak stalked her romantic rival for two months before attacking her in a parking lot at Orlando International Airport on Monday morning, a handwritten statement by the victim reveals.

Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman stated that Nowak was an acquaintance of her "boyfriend" but the two had not met until the astronaut doused her with pepper spray.

Nowak, 43, drove from Houston to Orlando to "physically confront and assult [sic] me," Shipman wrote when applying for a restraining order against Nowak.

On Tuesday, a haggard Nowak appeared in court twice in Orlando to face a bevy of charges, including attempted first-degree murder.

Late in the day, the Navy captain posted $25,500 bail at the Orange County Jail and was fitted with an ankle-monitoring device. Nowak, who left the bail bond office accompanied by two astronauts who flew in from Houston to help her, pulled a dark jacket over her head as a shield from the media glare that surrounded her.

Nowak, a mother of three who recently separated from her husband of 19 years, faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree attempted murder.

"What we have is a desperate woman who wanted to have a conversation with the other woman," Nowak's attorney, Donald Lykkebak, said in court. "What they have charged her with is premeditated, attempted murder."

But police said Nowak intended to kill Shipman, 30, when she bought a knife, BB gun and other supplies, got in her car in Houston, and made the 12-hour drive to Orlando, wearing diapers so she would not have to stop along the way.

"Mrs. Nowak admitted that she had obtained a victim's flight plans to Orlando without authorization from the computer of the man with whom she and the victim had a common interest," according to a police affidavit in support of the attempted murder charge.

She told police she went to Florida to talk to Shipman, an engineer assigned to the 45th Launch Support Squadron at Patrick Air Force base near Kennedy Space Center, who she believed was "involved" with Cmdr. William Oefelein, who lives in Houston.

Police recovered a letter in Nowak's car stating how much she loved the man, though she told a detective their relationship was "more than working but less than romantic." She told police she obtained Shipman's flight information without permission from Oefelein's computer. Oefelein, 41, who piloted the Discovery in a mission to the International Space Station several months after Nowak's mission on the same craft, flew to Florida on Monday.

In seeking the restraining order, Shipman said the astronaut followed her from the Orlando International Airport terminal to the blue satellite parking lot. Nowak approached Shipman's car and pounded on the window.

"I opened my window about 2 [inches] and she sprayed me with a Mace or pepper spray. I threw the car in gear and drove to the parking office, where we called the police," Shipman wrote. She said the spray burned her "head, face, eyes, nose and left hand and forearm."

In a statement to police, Shipman wrote: "I started to cry a little and rubbed my eyes with my hand. My eyes started to burn to point that I couldn't keep them open. They watered and my nose started running."

Shipman, who works at Patrick Air Force base near Kennedy Space Center, could not be reached Tuesday.

A NASA official said Oefelein was at the center and cooperating with law enforcement officials. Oefelein did not respond to media request for interviews.

Michael Coats, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement that Nowak is officially on a 30-day leave and "has been removed from flight status and all mission-related activities. We will continue to monitor developments in the case," he wrote.

Nowak appeared in court twice Tuesday. In the morning, she was granted $15,500 bail on her original charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and others. Later in the day, Orlando police also charged her with attempted first-degree murder, saying her trip -- and her actions -- were meticulously planned and that she intended to kill Shipman.

Shortly after 4 p.m., Orange County Judge Mike Murphy set bond on the attempted murder charge at $10,000, bringing the total bond for Nowak's release to $25,500. Assistant State Attorney Amanda Cowan said the evidence suggested "that murder was the plan."

Internet-generated maps of Nowak's route from Texas to Florida were printed Jan.23 and found in a search of her car, said Orlando police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones.

A list written by Nowak showed items she carried on her drive: "wig, trench coat, make-up, trash bags, knife and what appeared to be "ammo 9," an arrest report states. Police seized two wet diapers from Nowak's car which she said she used rather than stop on her 950-mile drive to Orlando.

The evidence of planning along with the weapons Nowak carried convinced the case investigator, Detective William Becton, "that Mrs. Nowak intended to murder Ms. Shipman," the arrest report states.

Information from The (Baltimore) Sun was used in this report. The Orlando Sentinel is a Tribune Co. newspaper.